The Code
by webgeekist
Summary: Post- Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR). With Revan and Bastila at the helm of their empire, one student comes to understand the real value of the Sith Code.


_I don't own the concept of Star Wars. If I did, this might be in a video game. Instead, it's on ff.n. This should say quite a bit. _

**_The Code _**

_Peace is a lie, there is only passion._

She said the words to herself for the millionth time, understanding them as well as ever yet disagreeing with them as a Jedi would. It was a problem when the first line of the mantra you were supposed to live by for the rest of your natural life didn't make sense.

Yet here she was, in the midst of a practice duel with Master Yuthura, saying that mantra to herself for the channeling effect that focus gave her. She found that if she concentrated on something – particularly the Code – she could think clearly as she fought, and the more clear her thoughts were the better her force senses and reactions were.

She found that the more focused she became, the more at peace she was, and if peace was a lie…that was a problem.

Yuthura gave out a frustrated grunt as the young girl dodged a blow once again. Desperately, she threw a series of quick, wild thrusts and slashes. Before she knew it, the match was over – the Twi'lek found herself on her back with her young student's practice saber so close it would leave a burn mark on her neck.

"Very good, Araven. Had this been a real battle, however, you would not have seen me make such a foolish mistake. It was very wise of you to take advantage of it."

The girl – Araven Theid – sensed the lie, but said nothing. Even if she had been telling the truth, it wouldn't have mattered. Since mastering the focus technique, she had never felt the rush of impatience. She still channeled anger, as it provided determination, which aided focus. Impatience, however, was a flaw that too many Sith seemed to have.

It was their weakness, not hers.

And it had allowed her to go undefeated in a saber duel for three years.

She followed her master out of the dueling room, up the corridors to the main hall. From there, she was dismissed to her room, where she would wait until Lord Revan broadcast his grand announcement from Rakata. She was looking forward to studying under the reign of Lord Revan again, as her two years as a Sith under Lord Malak had been brutal. Berated for her lack of passion in battle, she had been shunned by the Sith Masters as a talented dilettante. She had mostly ignored it, knowing she could best any of them with focus. Instead, she concentrated on learning as much as she could from observation and passive participation, and was content to watch the teachers fry the ambitious, uncontrolled upstarts. It was much easier to learn Force techniques by watching them performed. If they were performed upon you, you paid more attention to not screaming so loudly that the masters would just kill you for being weak.

When she had learned all she could, she decided, she would challenge them all. From what she could tell, she could easily sweep the Korriban Academy. Her sudden rise in prominence would strike fear into the insecure masters above her, and they would somehow lash out at her. Then she could clearly see how far to the top she could go.

In the meantime, she would sit calmly and watch carefully, and use a tool that the Sith denied themselves to stay patient enough to pull it off.

_Through passion, I gain strength._

They were the first words that popped into her brain as Revan let the rest of the Sith Galaxy know his plans.

"My decision is final in this matter. Bastila is as much the ruler of the Sith as I am. Her words, as my words are, will be your gospels. Any and all who stand against one of us will stand against both of us."

The meanings behind that were innumerable. She caught the obvious suggestion that they were now a united governing body with absolute power over all they reigned over, but she also caught the less obvious subtext: any Sith that challenged one of them for power would find themselves facing both at the same time.

The older Sith – and their younger apprentices – reeled and bellyached over it for days. "They shouldn't go against Sith tradition like that!" she heard a boy her age say one day. "It exists for a reason! It is there to insure the Sith stay strong!"

That sounded a bit too simplistic an explanation for her, especially since it suggested disobedience. She didn't feel that anyone save the most seasoned of masters had any right to challenge the highest Sith leadership, and she was even wary about opinions they gave unless they had the nerve to back it up with a challenge. Of course, those that had the nerve were now dead, killed by Malak for the most part. The fact that Revan had not only survived Malak's attack, but returned to defeat him spoke volumes for the Dark Lord's strength. If he had a weakness, it would be Lady Bastila. That weakness would not be immediately exploitable, however, and that was enough to gain Revan her loyalty.

"Why are you so sure this won't work? What makes you so certain that the man who killed Malak isn't capable of making calculated changes to Sith tradition?"

"Those are fine, lapdog words for a masterless Sith student!"

"I am no lapdog. It just seems unreasonable to speak of treason when the man has no weakness."

"This loyalty to a woman – to his apprentice, for Sith's sake – IS a weakness! My master will soon destroy him, and I will be Darth at his side!"

'Poor Jahxun,' she thought to herself. 'Too willing to let others do for him what he should earn himself.'

"And you? Where's your ambition? You should be plotting to overthrow something, someday. Perhaps you could start with the ladies' fresher?"

The assembled Sith laughed at that. She cast her eyes downward. Her greatest source of anger and resentment came from the way the Sith Masters and their apprentices had treated her. She used it as a slow-burning fuel to her passions, as the power behind her undercurrent of emotions. She used it as the bucket for her well, a cipher for her fuel supply.

She needed no master. And she would rock Sith tradition when she made her move, anyway. Perhaps that was why she could appreciate Darth Revan and Darth Bastila's plan for the Empire.

A few days later, she heard the news. Jahxun's master, along with six or seven others in short succession, had been brutally dispatched by the Dark Lord and Lady. The remaining masters – those without the nerve to do anything about their complaints –could be overheard talking about it.

"They posted their heads around the tallest tower in the temple at Rakata. I heard that they kept them alive for hours as they tortured them all in turn."

"Those weak fools will bring down the Sith with their ridiculous notions! Master should be struck down by the apprentice, not joined by her!"

"And there is little any of us can do about it. They will stand together against any threat to their power! They are unstoppable together!"

"Those fools! Don't they know what they're doing?! This will mark the end of us all!"

As the older masters chattered on, it occurred to her that if they truly were unstoppable, they could only strengthen the Sith Empire.

Revan and Bastila knew _exactly_ what they were doing.

_Through strength, I gain power._

The place was in an absolute panic as the port of Dreshdae and the Academy prepared for the arrival of the Dark Lady and Lord of the Sith. Great ceremonies were prepared by the small contingent of citizens on the planet and skill events on the level of a great gladiatorial match were planned by the headmasters. All was designed to simultaneously assure the joint lords that all was proceeding normally and impress them with Korriban's stunning success.

Araven was highly regarded by the academy officials for her skill with a saber only. They planned to use her to that extent. The selected students were told that the event would consist solely of saber dueling, and that no Force powers would be allowed. She surmised that they intended to let her best all but their most favored apprentices and impress the lords with the level of swordsmanship accomplished at the Academy, and then the rules would change for them and them alone. She expected increasingly impressive displays of force prowess would be allowed until one clear victor remained.

She was no one's step stool.

Any usage of the Force in the event would pretty much blow her cover, but she couldn't really afford not to impress Darth Revan and Darth Bastila. And, really, she was soon to make her move. Doing so by impressing the leaders of the Sith _and_ making the Academy Masters look like fools was just a very entertaining way of accomplishing the first step.

And so, when the day came, she started as she was expected to. Student after student was outmatched by her superior swordsmanship, and none of the matches lasted particularly long. Her first real challenge came in the form of the Zabrak apprentice of Master Panzer, who was seated two chairs to the right of the Dark Lord. The young Sith started attempting to use very subtle Force prompts, but they weren't nearly strong enough to lapse Araven's concentration. Though more skilled than any of the others before him with a saber, he was dispatched within the first seven minutes. Master Panzer looked very upset.

Next up was Jaxsun, who had been adopted by Master Gaan about a month after his master died by Bastila's hand. The arrogant bastard strutted into the arena confidently – he was actually favored to win overall. His smug smirk was utterly annoying, and Araven vowed to wipe it off his face.

His attempts at using Force powers were stronger, but still easily shrugged off. So early in the progression of the competition, she imagined he was instructed to use just enough influence to finish the fight without really being tagged as having used the Force. That meant there was a limit to what he could do, and he would quickly get desperate enough to reach it…and violate it.

The moment came nine minutes into the battle, after he'd coursed a shot of Fear through her through incidental contact. It didn't faze her in the least – she was too focused. Furious and at the edge, he threw himself and his rage into the lightsaber duel.

After three minutes of being met parry for thrust, he let his rage loose.

A quick Force Push and a quick display of Force Lightning was his idea of ending the match. After all, Araven was weak. She didn't command the Force as others did. But when she resisted his push and dodged his lightning, he could do nothing but stand in open-mouthed shock. She kicked out, placing him flat on his back, and leveled her saber to his mouth. He no longer wore a smirk.

It was a shame they were using training sabers.

Before the next match, there was a ferocious discussion in the observation stands. Before they allowed her to take on the next opponent, Master Yuthura stood slowly and looked out to the waiting students. The expression on her face reminded her of a skittish, scolded pet tach.

"As Force Powers are not allowed in this competition, the Lord and Lady have decreed that the next student to emply such aggressive use of the Force during competition will be put to death."

The angry and shocked faces she saw were quickly hidden behind a mask of acceptance. She smiled – their little plot had been stopped.

And so she quickly dispatched the rest of the students.

At the end of the competition, the Dark Lord and Lady came out onto the practice floor. She thought it would be some politically-motivated, tacit congratulations before they moved along to the next objective, but she was wrong. Instead, the Dark Lady handed her a lightsaber – a real lightsaber – as she drew her own.

"I saw you hold back during that competition," she said, placing herself in a dueling stance. "Let's see how you do with a real opponent."

Her attacks were so fast that they actually caught Araven off-guard. She struggled to find a point of concentration, and fell back on the use of the Code once more.

She could usually fixate on the first phrase. This time, she passed straight to the second.

Through passion – passion for their cause, passion for each other – Bastila and Revan had so far lived up to Araven's expectations as leaders. As she gauged her opponent, she saw and sensed a determination and control that none of her previous opponents had ever exhibited. She wondered if it wasn't her love for the Dark Lord, her security in the knowledge of their mutual passion that drove her to fight so fiercely. She risked a glance to Revan, and noticed his equally intense expression.

Bastila used that laspse in focus to break through Araven's defenses, but the skilled young duelist fought back immediately.

'Yes,' she thought, 'It is their passion for one another that gives them strength. And their combined strength gives them power.'

For the first time, she could identify with two lines of the Sith Code.

The battle waged onward for thirty minutes. It was the longest battle she'd fought all day, but after the tournament her muscles were beginning to tire. It didn't matter to her concentration, though.

Their battle reached a crescendo when their sabers locked and the duel became more about strength than skill. But it lasted just a moment, and then Bastila voluntarily backed off.

"Enough," she said evenly. If she had been exerted at all, she showed no outward sign of it. Araven, on the other hand, was dismayed to discover beads of sweat on her forehead.

The Dark Lady retracted her blade and smiled slightly at the young Sith. "You've impressed me," she said simply before turning away and leaving the room. Revan nodded and followed after her. The masters stared dumbly at the ostracized student for a few moments before rushing off after them.

The knowledge that the Dark Lady had taken notice of her was a salve to her inflamed ego. At last someone had taken time to pay attention.

_Through power, I gain victory._

Three days later, she decided to start phase 2.

Keeping her saber with her at all times, she would find groups of masters and kill them. There were eight total that she would dispatch, and at the end she should be at least halfway up the chain of command at the academy. That would rock the Sith. She looked forward to it.

Opportunity knocked at the edge of the Valley of the Lords, where she saw all eight of them at the same time. When she walked up to them, they hardly acknowledged her, focused instead on something else.

"Masters. Or should I say, former masters."

It was Yuthura that actually paid attention to her. Quick-witted as she was, she got the idea quickly.

"Surely you're joking, Araven! Mere saber skills cannot stop a true Sith!"

She withdrew her saber and ignited it. It was then that the masters paid attention.

"What is this?" Master Dakar asked. "Go away, Girl. We have no time for foolishness."

The younger Sith found it hugely ironic that the masters were so flippant about her challenge. She stood there preparing to strike when someone came up from the bottom of the hill. It diverted her attention, which diverted theirs.

The Dark Lady emerged at the plateau overlooking the vast valley floor, then stopped as she took in what must have been a very curious sight. Nine pairs of eyes looked directly at her, eight of them belonging to strong masters and one of them belonging to a lowly student with her saber ignited. It was a wonder she didn't laugh.

But Bastila was no fool. She deduced what was happening immediately.

"So, you all planned to assassinate me. And then what? Would you take on Revan? Would you honestly expect to survive the man who killed Malak after giving him rage and fury as fuel? You're all fools."

They all drew their sabers and started toward her. She drew hers in turn. Araven, seeing her opportunity walk away and towards certain defeat, had no intention of letting it continue to slip away. With a burst of speed, she found herself sliding to a stop next to Darth Bastila, her saber at the ready.

"Step aside, you foolish little girl! We have no time for you!"

It had been Master Dakar who had said that. His head found itself parked beside his feet before anyone could move.

She was attacked by two at once, while the remaining five attacked Bastila. The first, a fallen Twi'lek Jedi, let loose with all the Force he could muster, intending to separate her limbs from her body. To his shock, and that of his companion, it only succeeded in pushing Araven back slightly. Her recovery took no time, and soon the three were engaged in an unbalanced lightsaber duel. Her second attacker – a human female – stabbed at her repeatedly, then whirled around to bring her lightsaber down upon her head. This was in concert with the twi'lek, who slashed at her before bringing the saber up in a rising stroke. Araven simply sidestepped to avoid it, causing their sabers to graze one another as their owners fell back into a guard position. Araven quickly swung round completely to strike them both down, and succeeded in doing so. Their heads collided as the upper part of their torsos slid away from their legs.

Bastila had pared her list down to two, but the remaining masters were the headmasters of the Academy, Master Yuthura Ban and Master Curani Melczalc, the Zabrak who had been assigned to the academy in Master Uthar Wynn's place. The younger human charged the purple twi'lek, but was stopped as Yuthura spun round.

"Now, you stupid girl, learn the true power of the Dark Side!"

Force lightning came flying at her in an unavoidable current. Her saber came out in front of her, a defensive reflex that earned Araven protection against Yuthura's wrath. She was amazed once again at this underachiever's latent abilities.

"We never taught you how to wield the Force like this!" she said through clenched teeth. "Who taught you this?"

Araven mustered an evil smile. "You did, Master. You and all the others."

"What? When? I did no such thing!"

The battle raged around their conversation. Yuthura, a skilled swordswoman, had answers for Araven's advanced moves. But, she knew, the Sith Master had a weakness, and it was a time bomb waiting to go off.

They met each other blow for blow for fifteen minutes, an agitated Yuthura demanding to be told how Araven had learned what she knew the whole while. Finally, backed into the last remaining Sith Master, she tried a desperate and stupid combination that Araven easily blocked before ducking under and skewering her former instructor, hitting the other Sith behind her. Moments later, a red blade burst through Yuthura's chest from the other direction.

The blades were withdrawn, and the twi'lek slumped to the ground. Through her gurgles and rattles, Araven got the last word.

"You really want to know how I did it?"

A bubbling gasp was her only reply. Araven leaned in, but not close.

"I watched you. All of you."

Yuthura Ban did not last much longer, and when she passed neither Araven nor Bastila were still there. They were already walking back to the temple.

The younger Sith was amazed to find that the eyes of the Dark Lady were not yet yellowed. They were, in fact, still blue. Her own eyes were green, though the yellow had considerably increased since her arrival on Korriban.

She was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Thank you for your help back there, though it wasn't necessary."

Araven let confusion slip over her face for just a moment. "I didn't do that for you, my Lady."

"I am aware of that."

They stood there for a long moment. The Dark Lady obviously had more to say, though she didn't just blurt it out, either.

"Revan and I will be taking you on as an apprentice." It was not a request. But then, what fool would refuse it if it were?

Araven bowed deeply. "It will be my honor, my Lady."

They continued back to the temple once more. However, Araven stayed one step behind, her eyes cast downward with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

There were no questions when they arrived back inside. Everyone knew what had transpired. And now, everyone knew the outcome.

The shock on their faces was more for the fact that Araven had survived at all.

_Through victory, my chains are broken._

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect the change to be so sudden. One moment, she was a masterless student on Korriban. The next, she was bound for Rakata, second in command of the Sith Empire.

Revan and Bastila were harsh taskmasters, but not cruel. She learned quickly and learned well from them. The most important thing she learned, however, was that her focus was all important in a battle. Other factors could be used to her advantage – anger and hatred, fear in the opponent – but focus, above all, would win a battle.

"The ability to set your mind to a task is rare, even among Jedi," Revan told her one day.

"Your focus determines your reality," Bastila said to follow up. "A lapse in focus, therefore, causes you to lose touch with reality. Mistakes are made then, and those are dangerous for a living Sith." 

"Only dead Sith make mistakes."

It was true enough. She intended to remember it.

Her training lasted all of a month before she was told to lead a small armada against a contingent of Republic ships. The plan left little doubt as to who would win, but Revan still left some of the details to her. Those variables would determine the scale of the victory. She knew it would be grand.

"We must be able to trust you to do this for us," Revan said to his young apprentice. "We must see what decisions you make in action."

"I understand, Master," she replied. And she did. The more time she spent around them, the more their plans and theories made sense. They were all incredibly precise and practical for Sith, and their treatment of her was more than fair. Not only had she developed a deep respect, but she suspected a strong loyalty was developing. An interesting thought, really. Loyalty in a Sith? But they had inspired it by example. Their love for each other translated into an indestructible force of nature. Any intelligent being could not help but be in awe of it.

She stood aboard the _Guilty Spark_, her trap baited and set. Ready to meet two Republic cruisers were three destroyers and five battle groups. It would b a short fight.

She was, however, surprised when five heavy cruisers emerged from hyperspace and started bombarding. With little time to formulate any strategy, the brilliant idea of turning the ships occurred to her. It opened them up to more damage, but gave them eight times the firepower. The three battle groups were then sent straight down the middle of the aisles between the ships, where any missed shots would be friendly fire hitting another vessel. Twenty minutes into the battle, the plan appeared to be working. The lead ship blew up first, damaging the one to its right and causing it to blow, as well. One of the others bucked out, right as a third was destroyed.

One ship remained.

Araven ordered it taken, and ships were launched. Once the vessel's dock was taken, she went over there herself.

She found a defiant and angry Carth Onasi on the bridge of the ship. She smiled broadly.

This was the victory she truly needed. Lord Revan and Lady Bastila would be pleased.

_The Force shall free me._

There was no overwhelming pride as she strode through the doors of their throne room. There was no flourish of dark side power in an attempt to impress her masters. She led her captive into the room easily, not at the point of a blaster or lightsaber. The only use of Force at all involved pushing him over so that he knelt before her lord and lady.

"Damn you, Revan. I trusted you!"

Araven frowned as the Republic officer threw a string of curses at her masters, calling them all manners of things she wasn't entirely sure they deserved. Her hand crept closer to her lightsaber, but a warning look thrown at her by Bastila stopped her.

"It's nice to see you too, Carth," Revan answered. "What brings you to our little corner of the galaxy?"

"Your damnable Sith lapdog! The one that destroyed four ships and five thousand lives!"

"If your small armada hadn't been on its way to attack a world protected by the Sith Empire, we would not have engaged you."

"Sith Empire? Protected?! That was a Republic world!"

"Until it seceded legally and joined us."

This seemed to shut the admiral up. Araven, still kneeling, looked sideways at him.

He looked back at her. "Why would you follow these two? They are out to destroy the galaxy."

As she took those words in, a single thought shot through her mind before she could stop it. It honestly surprised her, that thought which held no truth for a Sith, and she could not stop it from showing on her face.

"You may answer that question, Darth Araven," Lady Bastila said. Glancing up at her masters, then looking back at Carth, she decided that her thoughts would doom her anyway, so she might as well be truthful.

"Because they genuinely lead. Because they are unstoppable as one unified force. Because I believe in them."

If the answer surprised them, they didn't show it. Carth, however, stood staring at her in disbelief.

"Loyalty among the Sith? There's no such thing."

"We are out to change all that, Carth," Bastila said. "We have no interest in petty rivalries and uncontrollable young brats. The Dark Side is a wild force that many never learn to tame, but there is one thing that is capable of such a feat."

"Yeah?" Carth snorted. "What's that?"

Revan wrapped his arms around Bastila and held her like that. She in turn would her arms around his neck and placed her head against his chest. Araven was always amazed when she saw them do such a thing, though such public displays were rare. As their apprentice, she had been one of a handful of people to see their relationship as it truly was – equitable.

"Love, Admiral Onasi," she said. "They love. No other Sith can do what they do."

He turned to the apprentice. "And you?"

"I stand in awe of its power. I am honored to study under them."

The man said nothing else for a long moment. "I didn't expect that," he said at last.

"We could use someone like you on our side, Carth. We could use more friends as we try to change the Sith. One day, this empire will become a republic again, but that won't be until it can support the weight of its own guilt. Until then, the Sith way must change, or the galaxy will revolt against it. It will be a slow progression, but we will save worthy lives in the process."

She was proud to be there. She was honored to be a part of the change.

"I guess you might be right."

She would protect it with everything she was.

"Excellent. Darth Araven, please escort our friend the admiral to the guest suite, then return here. We have much to plan."

"As you wish, my Lord," she replied, quickly exiting with the former Republic admiral in tow.

And for the first time since she had joined the Sith, she truly felt unrestricted.

For the first time in her life, she felt free.


End file.
